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I’ve fallen back in love with my slow cooker!

I’ve owned a slow cooker since finishing up maternity leave with Aidan almost three years ago. It was a present from the mammy. In those early days I thought it was the bees knees and in fairness it was so handy to throw the dinner on in the morning and come home to a cooked meal that evening.

Then, for a reason I can’t explain, the slow cooker got relegated to the back of the press for months. Actually, I think it was ignored for well over a year.

I don’t get home from work until 5.30pm and both Aidan and Sarah go to bed at 7pm so I don’t have time to be cooking meals from scratch when I get in. I usually just do a batch of their favourite meals every now and again and bung them in the freezer to have mid-week.

That’s all well and good, the kids’ bellies are full but then myself and Daddy Chambers have to tackle in to making our own dinner at about 8pm, which is a pain in the proverbial.

Alas, then I remembered the lonely slow cooker in the back of the press. It’s been up and running again now for the last few weeks and I remember now why I love it so much.

However, we haven’t been in the humour of traditional stews and curries from it so I’ve been testing out some new recipes that I thought I’d share with you. And I’m also looking for some new recipes so please feel free to send them my way. I need inspiration.

I have two favourite meals from the slow cooker at the moment. The first is traditional bacon, cabbage and potatoes. I cook the bacon over night in water in the slow cooker and in the morning I sieve the fat from the water and put it back in the slow cooker and throw in a bag of baby potatoes and a head of green cabbage. I cook it on high from around 8am until 5.30pm and sweet Jesus it’s divine. The ham just tears apart and thankfully Aidan and Sarah are big fans.

The other dish I’m loving from the slow cooker these days is an all in one chicken casserole. It’s not quite as easy as the bacon and cabbage, as there’s a bit of prep work to it, but it’s so worth it. Here’s the recipe:

Serves 4

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking Temp: High

Cooking Time: 8 – 10 hours

Olive oil

4 skinless chicken legs (875g in total)

50g of smoked rashers

300g of baby new potatoes

2 small leeks

2 sticks of celery

2 carrots

2 teaspoons of plain flour

1 teaspoon of dried mixed herbs

1 teaspoon of mustard powder

450ml of chicken stock

50g of curly kale (sliced)

Place the olive oil in a large pan over a high heat until hot. Add the chicken and cook for five minutes, turning, until browned all over. Transfer to the slow cooker pot. Add the bacon and potatoes to the frying pan with a little extra oil and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring until the bacon is beginning to brown. Stir in the leek, celery and carrots. Add the flour, herbs and mustard powder and stir well.

Pour in the stock and season to taste and bring to the boil. stirring. Once boiled transfer to slow cooker with the chicken and cook on a high heat for 8-10 hours or until the chicken is tender and cooked through.